The present invention relates to a thermal transfer film, and more particularly, to a thermal transfer film in which the image quality is improved by increasing the thermal energy transmitting efficiency to enhance sensitivity.
A laser transfer method is widely used in the fields of printing, typesetting, photography and the like. This method utilizes a principle in which an object material is transferred to a receptor by propelling the object material from a transfer film having a layer made of the object material to be transferred to the receptor.
Since a lot of energy is required in transferring the object material to the receptor, there is a need for a transfer film enabling stable and efficient transfer. A transfer film is generally varied in its structure according to the type of object material, the physical properties of a layer including the object material, and the type of energy source used for transfer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional transfer film has a structure in which a light absorbing layer 12 for providing transfer energy by absorbing light, and a transfer layer 13 including an object material are stacked on a support layer 11.
However, the aforementioned thermal transfer film has a rather low efficiency in transmitting the thermal energy converted from the light energy into the transfer layer. In other words, the thermal energy converted from the light energy is reversely transmitted to a support layer, so that energy loss is unavoidable.